Slug and aperture for check controlled apparatus



July 16, 1935. o. H. GOETZ 2,008,415

SLUG AND APERTURE FOR CHECK CONTROLLED APPARATUS Filed Oct. 13, 1933 [ave afar.- UJCQ-P ff 6 06222? Patented July 16, 1935 UNITED PATENT OFFICE Oscar H. Goetz,.Pa'rk Ridge, 111., assignor to Yale Slot &' Slug Company; Chicago, 111;, a; corporation of Illinois Application October 13, 1933-, Serial No. 693,483

6 Claims; (or. 194-4) The present invention relates to improvements in slugs and slug receiving apertures for check controlled apparatus, such as telephone pay sta tions, etc. One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide an improved combination of slug andaperture which are of such construction as to on able the conventional coin box to be instantly converted for slug use, without having. to perform the tedious, laborious. operations heretofore required in effecting such conversion. 'In' the conventional telephone coin? box, the upper ends of the coin chutes are usually covered by a housing which has circular pockets or apertures opening into the front face of the. housing, one of such pockets or apertures being provided for each chute. The coins are inserted into such apertures flatwise, and are then pushed. back into the housing until they are in position to drop down through the respective chutes. In converting this type of box into one capable of operation only by slugs, it has heretofore been necessary either. to perform riveting or like operations in fastening Ward's or guards in the form of pins, ribs, etc. within the apertures, or to provide a supplementary front housing having coded. top slots for edgewise insertion of grooved slugs, or to provide an entirely new, specially constructed housing adapted to fit over the. upper ends ofth'e co'in Each of these operations represents a chutes.

relatively expensive laborious installation. Furthermore, in the event that it is desired to change the coded arrangement of the slug and aperture, the difliculties of this operation are repeated.

3 In the practice of my invention, it is only neces sary to press a ring into the front of the aperture which is to be converted for slug usage. This ring can be instantly pressed into place by al'sirnple hand tool. In the event that it is desired'to 4 change the coded arrangement, this ring is forced 'out of the aperture and a differently coded ring pressed into its place.

Another object of the invention is to provide" aperture. That is to say, it is not necessary to": turn the slug to bring some one angular point of its periphery into registration with some one'angu-lar point of the aperture, but, instead, the slug can be pushed through the aperture without 118-1.

cessitating the conscious. effort of bringing'ward's 55 ing the coded'arrangement.

oi substantially symmetrical shape, whereby the or recesses on the slug into registration wards or recesses in the aperture. This isaccomplished utilizing substantially the entire periphery of the slug and. of the aperture in effect- In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the periphery of 5 the slug is: formed with uniformly spaced teeth the periphery of the aperture is also formed with; uniformly spaced teeth, the slug and aperture registering; when the teeth of the slug match with the tooth spaces or pockets of the aperture. 10- It will be evident that this toothed formation does not require any particular top, bottom or side point of the slug being brought into registration with any particular top, bottom or side point of the aperture, but the slug can be pushed through the: aperture in a multiplicity of different posi tions. The toothed formation is also readily adaptable to a large number of changes in the coded arrangement, inasmuch as the mere addition or subtraction of one or two teethirom the total number of teeth. of the slug and the total number of teeth of the aperture'will resultin an entirely different coded arrangement.

Another object' oi the invention is to: so shape one: setof teeth that the other set of teeth is automatically centered or registered with the tooth spaces of. the firstset of teeth in the mere act of pushing the slug into and through the aperture. I In the preferred construction, this is teeth of the slug into proper registration with the tooth. spaces of the aperture. While myinvention has. its principal utility in connection with telephone pay stations, it will be understood that it also has utility in connection with vending machines and other coin or slug controlled apparatus.

I Other objects and: advantages of the invention will appear from the following detail description of a preferred. embodiment thereof. In the acconipanying. drawing illustrating such embodiment-:- p

Figure 1. is, u front elevational view of a typical telephone pay station showing my invention 3550-. ciated with oneaof the coin receiving apertures;

. Figure 2 airagmentary front: elevational view one; larger scaleshowing'the coin receiving hous- 5O which-is mounted on top of the coin box, and illustrating my improved attachment ring inserted within one of the coin receiving apertures;

Figure 3 is a: vertical sectional View taken ap 55,

' ture; and

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of the improved slug.

The telephone pay station illustrated in Figure 1 comprises the usual coin receiving box 8 having one or more coin chutes opening into the top of the box, one of such chutes being indicated at 9 in Figure 3. The upper ends of the chutes are covered by a coin receiving housing having the apertures |2, l3 and I4 in'the front face thereof. Each aperture opens into a downwardly extending passageway or chute which is substantially coextensive with the corresponding coin chute in the box 8, one of these upper passageways being indicated at l5 in Figure 3. A small hole is is usually provided to open into each chute passageway l5 through the back wall of the housing H. The housing H is intended to represent any typical or standard construction of 'coin receiving housing mounted on the coin receiving box a. Such housing may be a unitary casting, or may consist of front and back sections riveted together. In ordinary practice, this housing has base flanges or ears H which are riveted to the top of the box 8, and frequently has depending lugs 28 adapted to register with'openings in the top of the box. Numerals appearing through the apertures l2, l3 and M designate that these apertures are for receiving 5, 10 and 25 coins, respectively. It is the customary practice to convert only the 5 aperture I2 to slug use, and accordingly I shall describe my invention in connection with this aperture, although it will be understood that the invention may also be adapted to the other aperture |3.

In adapting this aperture to the reception of slugs, I merely press a specially constructed ring 2| into the aperature. This ring is preferably a sheet metal stamping comprising the annular wall portionZZ and an outwardly diverging annular rim or flange 23 on the front'or outer end of the ring. The wards or guards of the ring consist of uniformly spaced teeth or like projections 24 punched to extend inwardly from the annular body 22 of the ring. As best shown in Figure 5, the toothlike projections 2 are punched or formed on a taper so that the two side wall surfaces 24 of each projection converge forwardly toward each other, terminating substantially in a point which merges with theannular body portion 22;. These surfaces 24 function as deflecting surfaces for directing the tooth projections on the slug into properregistration with the tooth spaces 25 between alternate teeth 24.

The ring 2| is preferably of such size as to have a driven or forced fit within the aperture l2. The inserting operation can be performed by a suitable hand clamping tool or by a small driving tool. The entering end of the aperture I2 is ordinarily provided with a beveled edge 28. The beveled rim 23 of the ring 2| is forced against this beveled edge 28 and serves to limit the distance that the.

ring can be'foroed into the aperture. It 'will also be noted that the beveled surface 23 of said ring is forward of the tooth projections 24, where it aids in centering the slug and properly directing the slug as the latter is pushed rearwardly into and through the aperture of the ring. The depth of. the ring is such as to dispose its rear edge short of the downwardly extending passageway l5 so as not to interfere with the downward movement of the slug through this passageway. When the ring is in position within the aperture l2, it defines a toothed aperture |2a therein which will only receive a correspondingly shaped slug.

The slug is indicated at 3| in Figure 6. Formed around its periphery are the uniformly spaced teeth or projections 34 with alternating tooth spaces or recesses 35. These tooth projections and tooth spaces have a relatively close matching fit with the tooth spaces 25 and tooth projections 24 in the aperture |2a. In inserting the slug it is merely placed flatwise within the front end of the toothed aperture |2a and is then pressed back through the aperture with the finger. Should the tooth projections 34 of the slug be out of registration w'ith'the tooth spaces 25 of the aperture when the slug is presented into the aperture, the sloping surfaces 24 of the tooth projections in the aperture automatically center or align the projections 34 with the tooth spaces 25. Also, because of the uniform, symmetrical spacing of the tooth projections on the slug and of the tooth spaces in the aperture, there is no need of having to align any top, bottom or side point of the slug with any corresponding top, bottom or side point of the aperture. This makes the use of the slug much more simple and convenient. A wide variety of coded arrangements can be obtained by merely increasing or decreasing the total number of tooth projections around the slug and the total number of tooth spaces Within the aperture; or, as an alternative method, either alone or in combination with different members of tooth projections and tooth spaces, the tooth.

projections24 in the aperture might be made higher and the tooth spaces 35 in the slug made correspondingly deeper.

Should it be desired to substitute a differently coded ring 2|, the old ring can be withdrawn either by inserting a tool through the hole I6 from the back side of the housing I and forcing the ring out of the aperture l2, or by inserting forming the toothed aperture |2a by the insertion of the ring 2| into the aperture l2, the tooth projections 24 and tooth spaces 25 might be cast or formed asan integral part of the member defining the aperture l2.

Attention is directed to the fact that the toothed aperture |2a is incapable of passing a 5 coin, or.

of passing such coded slugs as have heretofore been used. These prior slugs, having either radially extending slots, grooved faces or other coded arrangements, are of substantially the same size as a 5 piece and cannot pass through the relatively small diameter defined between the high points of substantially opposite tooth projections 24 within the aperture |2a. At the same time, my invention does not require that the authorized slug 3| be of objectionably small size. The standard aperture l2 inthe housing H is somewhat larger than a coin, and the annular wall 22 of the ring 2| is relatively thin. Hence, the slug which will pass through this ring can be made of a size approaching within a few thousandths of an inch the size of a 5 coin. Such a slug will be efficacious to close circuit controlling contacts or to release looking or tripping mechanism in the same manner as a 5 coin. Should it be desirable to use a slug of the same size as the coin, it is only necessary to ream out the standard aperture I2 to a few thousandths of an inch larger diameter and to use a correspondingly larger ring 2|. Similarly, where the tooth projections 24 and tooth spaces 25 are cast integral with the housing I l, the size of the toothed aperture may be such as to accommodate a slug having the same over-all diameter as the coin. The height of the tooth projections 24 within the aperture 12a may be made greater or less as desired (with corresponding change in the depth of the recesses 35 in the slug) in the preferred arrangement being such that any smooth surface token or slug which is capable of passing through the small diameter or small circle defined between the high points of these projections 24 will be incapable of closing the circuit controlling contacts or of releasing the looking or tripping mechanism of the coin receiving box.

I claim:

1. The combination with a housing including a chute, of an aperture communicating with said chute and adapted to have slugs passed therethrough for entry into said chute, said aperture having substantially uniformly spaced recesses arranged peripherally around the inside of said aperture and having an annular beveled surface forward of said recesses for guiding slugs into the recessed portion of said aperture, and a slug having substantially uniformly spaced projections arranged peripherally around the outside of said slug adapted to register with said recesses when said slug is passed through said aperture.

2. The combination with a housing including a chute, of an aperture communicating with said chute and adapted to have slugs passed therethrough for entry into said chute, said aperture having substantially uniformly spaced recesses arranged peripherally around the inside of said aperture, said recesses tapering to decrease in width from the front to the back of said aperture, and a slug having substantially uniformly spaced projections arranged peripherally around the outside of said slug adapted to register with said recesses when said slug is passed through said aperture.

3. The combination with a housing including a chute, of an aperture communicating with said chute and adapted to have slugs passed therethrough for entry into said chute, said aperture having alternating tooth projections and tooth spaces arranged peripherally around the inside of said aperture, said tooth projections tapering in width to have relatively narrow ends at the front side of said aperture, and a slug having alternating tooth spaces and tooth projections arranged peripherally around the outside of said slug adapted to register with the tooth projections and tooth spaces of said aperture when said slug is passed through said aperture.

4. The combination with a housing including a chute and including an aperture through which slugs are to be passed for entry into said chute, of a ring inserted in said aperture having substantially uniformly spaced recesses formed around the inner periphery of said ring and having an annular beveled surface forward of said recesses for guiding slugs into the recessed portion of said ring, and a slug having substantially uniformly spaced projections arranged peripherally around the outside of said slug adapted 'to register with said recesses when said slug is passed through said ring.

5. The combination with a housing including a chute and including an aperture through which slugs are to be passed for entry into said chute, of a ring for insertion in said aperture having substantially uniformly. spaced recesses formed around the inner periphery of said ring, said recesses tapering to decrease in width from the front to the back of said ring, and a slug having substantially uniformly spaced projections formed around the outer periphery of said slug adapted to register with said recesses when said slug is passed through said ring.

6. The combination with a housing including a chute and including an aperture through which slugs are to be passed for entry into said chute, of a ring for insertion in said aperture having alternating tooth projections and tooth spaces formed around the inner periphery of said ring, said tooth projections tapering in width to have relatively narrow ends adjacent to the front side of said ring, and a slug having alternating tooth spaces and tooth projections formed around the outer periphery of said slug adapted to register with the tooth projections and tooth spaces of said ring when said slug is passed through said ring.

OSCAR H. GOETZ. 

